Men, Monkeys, Spiders and Flies

Perhaps a bit of clarification, of course the title refers to Man, Monkey, Late Spider and Fly Orchids. Another foray into Kent gave us all of them but unfortunately the Late Spider, a single specimen, was a couple of days from being in flower. Still three and a half from four isn't bad.

We started the day at Darland Banks, a nature reserve on the outskirts of Gillingham, and our target was the Man Orchid. Well, I expected that we should find a few but I wasn't prepared for the spectacle that we found.  There were thousands and, as we learned later, we weren't in the hot spot.

The Man Orchid isn't the brightest of orchids, blending well into the background, and as it ages its flower changes subtly, acquiring reddish tones.

Man Orchid

Three Men of Kent

A pale (new) specimen - not sure.

Older flowers take on a red trim.

Man Orchids in profusion

Man Orchid

Man Orchid

This was an attempt at isolating the subject from its background, pretty much a failure as my plain green sweater came out more or less grey and certainly not plain - must try harder.

Next  was a quick stop to monitor the progress of the Late Spider Orchids, we found several but none in bloom, although one would have a flower in a couple of days. Our third and final stop for the day was a revisit to Park Gate Down, last week there had been a profusion of Early Purple Orchids and the promise of Common Twayblades. These were now showing their age but thankfully our intended target, the Monkey Orchid was just starting to flower. We counted over 60 spikes of various sizes, the majority of which were still in tight bud. Nice to see them in both the first and second fields of the reserve. In the third field we found plenty of Fly Orchids, mostly single specimens, no clumps as I had found on a previous visit.

Tight bud

On the way

That's better

The botanist who named it the Monkey Orchid had a good imagination.

A good shot in a few days time

Fly Orchid

Fly Orchid

Fly Orchid

As I was recording this blog the phone rang and with in half an hour Martin and myself were on our way to record Early and Southern Marsh Orchid at a fairly local site. We were a tad early in the season, two more weeks and there would be hundreds of spikes, however we found both species in reasonable numbers.

Early Marsh Orchid

Early Marsh Orchid

Southern Marsh Orchid

Southern Marsh Orchid

Southern Marsh Orchid

Marsh Orchids

A quick visit this morning to a local site where there are hundreds if not thousands of Marsh Orchids, both Early and Southern. The site continues to thrive and numbers are still increasing, but it is my observation that the specimens are more widely distributed. The lack of disturbance is demonstrated by the fact that the dead stalks of last years blooms were to be found adjacent to this year's.

Oddly enough exactly the same observation I made four years ago. I think they may have flowered a tad earlier as a majority of the blooms were going over.

Southern Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza praetermissa

Early Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza incarnate

Ferring Rife

It was a pleasure to get out and about today, albeit for just a couple of hours. The sunshine and clear blue skies made a great change from Sky Sports and endless daytime TV adverts.

Each year I visit the rife specifically to monitor the Southern Marsh and Early Marsh Orchids. Whilst I don't do an actual count, I normally make a fairly objective assessment. I am glad to report that the population appears to be in fine health, not the numbers of 2011 but they seem to be far more widespread, in that smaller specimens can be found as far as the hedgerow boundaries of the lagoons. It is possible that seed has been distributed by the high floods in the past. Also, it is great to note that the spoil heaps of the excavations carried out by the Environment Agency are being colonised.

Early Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza incarnate

 

Southern Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza praetermissa

With last year's flowering stem

A smaller specimen on the edge of the lagoon

Spotted leaves



A profusion of Dactylorhizae

North lagoon

A good sign - colonisation of the spoil heaps

Flag irises always look good

South lagoon

Super size spike